


as the days fly by (we'll be more than getting through)

by televangelists



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Post-Canon, catra and adora open a bakery, in time time time we'll build a home for two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:07:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25005148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/televangelists/pseuds/televangelists
Summary: “I never really imagined this,” Adora says softly. “Anything like this. I never thought very far past the war. I didn’t think there would ever be a time where I could just live.”Catra bites down on her lip, blinking. She’d never thought this far, either. Never really let herself want anything, because she knew that she’d never get it. But now…Now she’s lying with Adora in a meadow unspoiled by violence, under a sky full of sunlight, and the future is wide open.[Catra and Adora, after the war.]
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 286





	as the days fly by (we'll be more than getting through)

**Author's Note:**

> established relationships and fluff will never be my brand but catra and adora deserve nothing less than a soft epilogue so that's what i'm giving them. i had no real outline for this fic and i don't know how to write short one shots, so i let it get away from me a little, but enjoy. the title is from animal by troye sivan.

When we came home together  
We found the inside weather  
All of our love unended

\- May Sarton, from _A Light Left On_

Catra has never really had a moment to breathe.

It started when she was just a child in the Fright Zone. Life in the Horde was a never-ending series of events; there was always more training to be done, a higher position to be achieved. For all her years there, she felt the constant pressure of fear and hunger pushing against her lungs. 

Even when she became Force Captain, she always had more to do. Stop the rebellion, capture She-Ra, destroy the princesses. 

And when the war was over, when Horde Prime was defeated and magic returned to Etheria, there was still no time to waste. The rest of the universe still needed magic, after all. There’d been six months of trips around the various galaxies, and then six months of rebuilding Etheria from the ground up.

It’s been a year since the war ended, and it’s only now that they’re getting the rest they deserve. 

It’s finally time to rest, and yet Catra can’t sleep.

Catra lies awake in her bed in the Bright Moon castle, head tilted towards the open window. Moonlight spills into the room, illuminating the floor with a pearly glow. Adora lies next to her, sleeping soundly, mouth slightly open and hair splayed out in golden waves across her pillow. One of her arms is draped around Catra’s stomach, her hand pressed lightly against Catra’s skin, warm and soft.

Catra watches her for a moment, carefully tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She traces a small scar on Adora’s collarbone, a souvenir from one of the many planets they visited since the end of the war. Adora stirs slightly, and Catra can’t help smiling.

Even after growing up sleeping in the same bunk, even after sharing dozens of cramped beds on dozens of new planets, there’s something beautiful about falling asleep next to Adora. Catra thinks it might be the knowledge that Adora feels safe enough to let down her guard and relax in Catra’s arms, at Catra’s side.

It’s something that Catra had never thought she’d be fortunate enough to have again.

It hasn’t always been easy. The first two months after the war were an almost constant push and pull, a battle of Catra’s deepest want and harshest fear - the wish to be loved and the fear of being left. It took three months for her to let Adora in for good, and six months for her to be able to look Glimmer in the eye. She still finds it a little difficult, when they’re in Bright Moon, to look at the throne or the Moonstone or the stained-glass mural of Queen Angella. 

The guilt is still there, under her skin, deep in her heart, but Catra’s gotten better at accepting it. She’s slowly gotten better at letting people in, better at feeling rather than suppressing. Better at loving.

They’re home for good now, Glimmer told them yesterday. There will always be more planets to support, more people to help, but that’s just their life now. For as far as they can see into the future, they’ll be here on Etheria. Here in Bright Moon.

And, Catra thinks, she’ll be here with Adora. They’ll finally have the time to do everything they want, the space to grow into the people they’ll one day become.

Catra has healed herself even without enough room to breathe, and if she can do that, then she wants to see what she can do now that she finally has enough oxygen.

Adora rolls over onto her back now, her arm sliding from Catra’s stomach to lie on the bed. Catra rests her head on Adora’s chest and listens to the steady rhythm of her breathing, the push and pull of her lungs, the thump of her heart.

Catra listens to Adora’s breathing and looks out the window at a moon bright enough to light up the entire night sky, and for the first time in years, she lets herself breathe. 

//

Catra wakes up the next morning to find that Adora is already awake, stretched out in bed and flipping through a pile of papers with a familiar look of concentration on her face. Catra’s seen it dozens of times before, knows all of Adora’s expressions better than she does her own.

“Hey,” Catra says, stretching. “What are you looking at?”

Adora turns to her. “Oh, hey. Good morning.”

“Good morning yourself, dumbass. Now tell me what you’re doing.” Catra nudges her head against Adora’s arm, trying to get her to drop the papers. 

Adora sets them down on the bed, not as carefully as she once would have. “Just some plans for this other planet that’s having problems within its magical community. Glimmer was worried about them at first, but I think everything is fine now.”

“It better be,” Catra says. “We’re done, remember? We don’t need to rush around helping every idiot who can’t build a house or use magic or find their way out of an empty room.”

Adora gives her a reproving look, but her grey eyes are glinting in amusement. “Catra...” 

“I know, I know,” Catra relents. “We’re never really done helping others, whatever. The whole righteous hero deal. But - ” 

“This is our time,” Adora says. “I know. I’ve just got to get used to - you know.”

And Catra does know. Adora’s never been one to give anything less than her all to everyone she meets, and it’s been hard for her to learn that she’s allowed to keep something for herself, too. Hard for her to learn that she can let herself have things without needing to share them with the world. 

Adora’s always given too much of herself to the world, and Catra is determined that the world should finally start giving back.

So she presses a kiss to Adora’s shoulder and lies back against her, not even trying to hide the purr that rises in her throat when Adora absently reaches over and scratches her ears gently. 

“It’s probably breakfast time,” Adora murmurs.

“Probably,” Catra agrees, blinking lazily against the warm sunlight streaming in through the window. The sun is already halfway risen in the sky, shining against a cloudless expanse of blue. “Do you want to get up yet?”

“No,” Adora admits. 

“Then we’ll stay here until you do,” Catra says, curling up to Adora and wrapping her tail loosely around her girlfriend’s wrist. Adora smiles, one side of her mouth curving upwards, and Catra kisses her and then closes her eyes again.

They miss breakfast and barely make it to lunch, and their entire bedroom is filled with sunlight by the time they finally fall out of the warm tangle of sheets.

Catra thinks she could get used to this.

//

They all make dinner together in the kitchens that night - or rather, Bow and Glimmer make dinner while Adora chops vegetables too aggressively and Catra watches in amusement - and they bring the food out to the massive dining hall. The table is so long that Catra can barely see the other end of it, and the sound of forks against plates seems to echo in the empty hall, but Adora is sitting next to her and that’s all Catra needs to be happy. 

Glimmer passes a plate of dumplings to Bow and clears her throat. “So now that we have all this free time, what should we do with it?”

“It’s not really free, is it?” Adora asks hesitantly. “I mean, there are still places that could probably use a little guidance, or a little help from She-Ra.”

Catra taps her fork against Adora’s hand. “Oh, shut up. You just want an excuse to whip out the giant sword again.”

“I know!” Bow exclaims. “My dads were just saying that they wanted to re-catalogue the library. I’m sure they’d love a hand from us.” 

Silence falls as Catra, Adora, and Glimmer all stare at each other, counting on someone else to say something. 

Bow cracks up at the looks on their faces. “Guys, I’m kidding. I was thinking more like we could just hang out together, do some Best Friend Squad type stuff together.”

Catra rolls her eyes at Bow’s dumb nickname for them, but she can’t deny that the prospect of lazing around for a while sounds great. She catches Adora smiling with one corner of her mouth, and can tell that she’s excited about it too, but still feeling a little guilty. 

“Hey,” Catra says, her tone low enough that only Adora hears her. She reaches for Adora’s hand and squeezes it gently. “We’re good, remember? We saved the universe and then helped rebuild it for a year. That qualifies us for some solid time to mess around.”

Adora’s smile spreads across her face. “Got it.”

Catra tips her head back to look at the ceiling, so far up it seems like miles away, and wonders why it needs to be so high. It’s something about Bright Moon that she’s never gotten used to, and she’s not sure she ever will. 

There’s a laugh from Glimmer, and Catra snaps back to reality to see Adora stealing the last dumpling off of her plate, grinning at her. 

“You didn’t seem like you wanted it,” Adora says through a full mouthful. Catra sighs and pushes Adora’s face away, but she’s smiling inwardly.

The ceilings may be too high, but Adora and her friends manage to fill the room with warmth anyways.

//

Catra soon gets used to their new way of life. 

She wakes up late almost every morning, lies in bed next to Adora and watches the sunlight spill across the floor. Sometimes Adora isn’t there, but Catra can always find her - or She-Ra - on the grass outside their bedroom window, practicing her swordplay form. On these mornings, Catra watches with interest, welcoming the heat that sometimes rushes between her legs when she sees Adora dripping with sweat, muscles taut and sword held high.

There’s occasionally a quick flash of fear that shoots through Catra when she sees She-Ra outside the window, but she always pushes it away within seconds. She’s mostly gotten past this by now, mostly learned how to accept that She-Ra is someone to be loved instead of feared. 

Adora will come in from her practice covered in sweat and grass blades, and Catra will make a joke about her being a sword-slinging idiot. Adora just laughs and greets Catra with a quick kiss before heading off to the shower, pretending not to turn red when Catra jokingly offers to join her. Melog, curled up on the floor beneath the window, will purr happily, their mane a light shade of blue.

(Catra never actually joins Adora in the shower, but sometimes she stops her before she gets there in the first place.)

They find Bow and Glimmer for breakfast, and the four of them usually end up eating on the floor in Glimmer’s room instead of at the formal dining table. Micah joins them sometimes, when he’s not on Mystacor with Castaspella. It’s comfortable in a familiar way. 

Catra spends most of her days with Adora, looking around the castle’s grounds or lying in some of the brilliantly green meadows now covering Etheria. There’s always a warm breeze and at least a few magical creatures, and there’s a peaceful sort of feeling whenever they’re stretched out in the grass.

“I still almost can’t believe this is real,” Adora says one day. They’re lying in the meadow beneath the castle, surrounded by grass and sweet-smelling flowers. Catra’s head is resting in Adora’s lap, and Adora’s hands are busy twisting together daisy stems in the shape of a crown.

“Well, believe it, princess,” Catra says lazily, looking up at her. Adora’s hair is illuminated by the sun behind her, making her hair look like solid gold. She’s so beautiful that it makes Catra ache a little bit. “We’re free. We’re together. This is our life now.”

“I never really imagined this,” Adora says softly. “Anything like this. I never thought very far past the war. I didn’t think there would ever be a time where I could just live.”

Catra bites down on her lip, blinking. She’d never thought this far, either. Never really let herself want anything, because she knew that she’d never get it. But now…

Now she’s lying with Adora in a meadow unspoiled by violence, under a sky full of sunlight, and the future is wide open. 

Adora has spent her whole life giving, and Catra has spent her whole life taking, and yet neither of them have ever gotten what they truly wanted until now.

“Hey,” Catra says, pushing her head against Adora’s chest. “I love you.”

It’s been over a year since she said those words for the first time, and yet the thrill of it never quite leaves her. There’s always an electrical charge, a warm rush in her chest, accompanied by the tiniest lingering chill of fear that someday it won’t be reciprocated.

But today is not that day, and Adora smiles down at her. “I love you too,” she says, placing the daisy crown on Catra’s head. Catra makes a face but doesn’t brush it away. 

“Hey, Adora! Catra!” Bow’s voice. Catra raises her head slightly to see Bow pushing through the grass, a large basket in his hand. Glimmer’s at his side, holding a blue and white striped blanket. 

“We thought a picnic would be nice,” Glimmer says happily. “Get up, guys. I’m putting the blanket down.”

“Couldn’t you just teleport it under us?” Catra grumbles. “I don’t wanna move.”

Adora laughs and shoves her up gently, letting Glimmer spread out the blanket. Catra sighs and stretches, eyeing the picnic basket and wondering what’s in it. She hopes there’s strawberries and cream.

Bow lets out some kind of high-pitched squeal, and Catra turns to see him staring at her, his eyes wide. “Are you wearing a flower crown? That’s so - ” 

“Don’t you dare say it,” Catra warns him, her ears flattening. 

“That’s so cute!” Bow squeaks, reaching towards her as if to pat her head. Catra hisses and swipes at him with her hand, the gesture only half hearted. 

“Someday you’re going to stop calling everything about me cute,” she mutters. 

“Don’t count on it,” Bow says, beaming at her. Catra frowns at him but makes no move to take the crown off. 

Glimmer is unpacking the basket now, laying out plates of dumplings and bread rolls and a bowl of cream with another of strawberries next to it. Catra perks up at the sight of her favorite snack, reaching for the cream.

Adora pokes her in the side with a teasing grin. “Don’t drink it this time, yeah? Save some for the rest of us.”

“Not my fault they put it in a pitcher,” Catra defends herself. “How was I supposed to know that you weren’t supposed to drink it?”

“It was next to the coffee, Catra.” 

“Okay, and?” 

Adora doesn’t reply, just slips her hand into Catra’s. They sit there for a moment, fingers interlaced, until Adora gets too hungry to wait and starts throwing dumplings into her mouth. 

“Hey, quit it,” Glimmer protests. “I’m not done setting out the food yet.” 

Adora sneaks in one more dumpling and then leans back against Catra, giving Glimmer an innocent expression. 

“Hypocrite,” Catra smirks. “How about you save us some dumplings?”

“Bow was right,” Adora says. “You do look cute.”

“Complimenting me so I’ll stop making fun of you is not going to work.”

“Then why are you blushing?”

Catra sniffs. “Must be allergic to the flowers.”

“Allergies don’t make you blush,” Adora says. She gives Catra a smirk, and Catra doesn’t even try to resist the urge to kiss it off of her lips.

“Hey, guys,” Bow says. “Are you going to eat, or what?”

Catra grabs the pitcher of cream and tips her head back to drink directly out of the container, and Adora just sighs.

//

Catra and Adora start to settle into their room the way they settle into Bright Moon itself. Adora hangs up a map of Etheria and a few pieces of paper with sketches of the two of them, drawn by Bow one day as they ate dinner. Catra scratches her own marks on the bedframe and the walls, tries to make it feel like the room is really theirs. 

They share Adora’s small bed and always leave the windows open and decorate in their own way, and it feels nice, feels natural. 

For Catra, there’s still a feeling that something’s missing from the room, like the last piece of the puzzle still isn’t in place. But she figures that’s normal, so she lets it go for now. 

There’s also a feeling that something’s missing in general. Catra loves her new life, loves the laziness of the days and the freedom of the nights, but sometimes she gets a fleeting sensation of something she can’t quite name. 

It’s the kind of feeling that she would have once banished, buried deep within herself, but she’s grown out of that, moved past the notion that vulnerability is weakness. She decides she can ask for help if she needs it.

She won’t talk to Adora about it though, not yet. She doesn’t want to worry her for nothing, not if there’s someone else she can talk to first.

//

Scorpia and Perfuma come to dinner one night, Scorpia almost breaking Catra’s ribs when she grabs her in a hug. 

“Hi, Scorpia,” Catra says, wincing as the breath is crushed out of her. “If you could just watch the ribs - yeah, the ribs - okay, having a little trouble breathing here - ” 

“Oh gosh, I am so sorry,” Scorpia exclaims, dropping her to the ground. “It’s so good to see you! And of course it’s good to see Adora and Bow and Glimmer, too. You know, I was just saying to Perfuma the other day that we should stop for a visit, and now here we are! Man, I just love Bright Moon. So shiny, so pretty.”

“It’s good to see you guys too,” Glimmer says, hugging Perfuma. “How’s Plumeria?” 

“It’s wonderful,” Perfuma replies. “With spring just beginning, the plants are all getting ready to bud out. Of course, the seasons here in Bright Moon never change. It’s a wonderful growing environment.”

“Uh, yeah,” Adora says quickly. “Great environment. Plants just thrive here.” 

Perfuma looks out towards the front of the castle. “I wonder how the garden here is doing. I did plant a nice variety of flowers when we were staying here during the war - ” 

“They’re great!” Adora assures her. “Er, kind of. I may have, uh, accidentally cut some of them up when I was, you know.” She mimes stabbing the air in front of her with an imaginary sword. “She-Ra.”

Perfuma looks horrified, though she’s polite enough to try and conceal it. “You killed my plants?”

“Not on purpose!"

“Maybe you should go take a look at them,” Catra says. “I’ll come help.” She guides Perfuma out the doors and onto the terrace, heading for the castle garden.

Perfuma stares sadly at the wilted remains of what was once healthy vegetation. “Catra, your girlfriend murdered my plants!”

“Eh, whatever. I’m sure they’ll grow back.” Catra clears her throat, a little bit nervous. “Perfuma, can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course,” Perfuma says. “What’s going on?”

After all this time, it’s still not easy for Catra to talk about her own feelings, but it’s always been easiest with Perfuma. The Plumerian princess is the gentlest person that Catra’s ever met, someone who’s never known anything but warmth and growth and kindness. 

They’ve had these talks before, on the rare occasions that they’ve had free time in the last year, and Catra can’t even deny how much it helps.

“Well, I - ” Catra begins, her tail flicking around a little bit as she tries to figure out how to explain what she’s feeling. “It’s kind of like - we won the war and fixed the universe, and now we’re free to do anything with our lives, and that means I should be happy, right?”

Perfuma nods, and Catra notices that the dead plants behind them are starting to turn green again just from being in the princess’s presence.

“I am happy, don’t get me wrong,” Catra says. “I’ve gotten a life that’s better than I ever could have imagined. I have friends, and I have Adora, and I have - ” The words _a home_ stick in her throat, and she doesn’t quite know why. “I’m so happy, but it still feels like something’s missing, somehow. Like there’s one piece of this whole puzzle that hasn’t fit in yet. And I feel guilty about it, because shouldn’t I be satisfied with this? Shouldn’t this be enough for me?” She lowers her head in shame.

Peruma rests a hand lightly on her shoulder, the touch as soft and as gentle as a summer breeze. “It makes perfect sense, Catra. You were raised as a soldier, and your entire life has been one task after another. You’ve spent your whole life learning how to _do_ ; you just need some practice learning how to _be_.” 

“Oh,” Catra murmurs. That makes sense, she supposes. “So how do I do that?”

“However you can,” Perfuma replies. “I would recommend learning something constructive, something mindless and easy, just to keep you grounded.” 

Catra nods. “Stay grounded. Got it.”

Perfuma extends her hand to the plants behind her, now tall and green and healthy. She breaks off a stem and cups her hands over it, and Catra watches in fascination as a red rose appears from it.

“Here,” Perfuma says, handing her the flower. “Remember, Catra, you should never be ashamed to feel. Just give yourself time, and like any flower, you’ll bloom.”

Catra takes the rose, tucking it into a pocket. “Thanks, Perfuma. I’ll remember that.”

Perfuma gives her a smile, and for once, Catra doesn’t feel the familiar twinge of guilt in her stomach, the sting of knowing that she can never be as good a person as those who were born into kindness. For once, she feels like maybe she can get there someday.

“We should probably get back to dinner,” Catra says. “Otherwise Adora will eat it all.”

“You two are so cute,” Perfuma says happily as they start to walk back. “You seem so happy with Adora.”

“Yeah,” Catra says casually. “She’s alright, I guess.” 

Adora spots them walking in and waves, and Catra’s smile takes over her face so fast that it’s like a reflex. She feels a rush of love welling up inside of her, so strong that she looks down at her chest quickly to make sure that her heart isn’t shining through her skin.

“Yeah,” she repeats. “She’s alright.”

//

Bow decides that they need a beach day. 

They head to Mystacor weighed down by towels and beach umbrellas and another of Bow’s picnic baskets. Catra bristles a little as they float over to the magical island, because she remembers all too well what happened last time they were here. The hidden room, the fiery illusions, the failsafe. 

It’s like being inside one of her worst nightmares. 

Catra closes her eyes, digs her claws into the grassy ground until she feels a warm touch against her shoulder and looks to see what’s happening.

“It’s okay,” Adora says, her grey eyes reassuring. “It’s all in the past.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Catra mumbles, trying not to show how shaky her hands are. 

Adora wraps an arm around her. “You didn’t have to.”

Catra looks around her, at the blue sky and the bright sun and the sparkling expanse of the ocean below them, and then back at Adora. It’s a year later and the Heart of Etheria has been destroyed. Adora is right here with her, safe and sound, and there’s no reason to panic after all.

“Alright,” Catra says, relaxing, leaning into Adora’s touch. “We’re good.”

“Better than good,” Adora says. The corner of her mouth curves up, and she plants a kiss on Catra’s forehead, quick and soft. “Let’s go.”

The beach is beautiful, but not beautiful enough to outweigh Catra’s hatred of water. She’s content to lie on a fuzzy towel, soaking in the warmth of the sun while Adora, Bow, and Glimmer splash around in the surf. The sand is soft underneath her and she’s just starting to doze off when Adora charges out of the water to stand over her, letting water drip down onto Catra’s bare stomach.

“Quit it,” Catra splutters, sitting up and shoving at Adora’s legs. “You’re getting me wet.”

“That easy, huh?” Adora smirks. 

Catra feels herself blush. “Not what I meant, idiot.”

“I know,” Adora says, still with that damn smirk on her face. “Come on, swim with us.”

Catra hesitates for a moment, wanting to say no, but since it’s Adora, she gives in. She lets herself be led to the edge of the water, dips her toes in.

“Go in all the way,” Glimmer calls to her. “It’s really warm. It’s not even like water. It’s like swimming in milk.”

“That’s gross,” Bow points out. “Who’d want to swim in milk?”

“Well, Catra might. After all, she’s part cat.”

Adora’s looking at her hopefully. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but - ” 

“I’ll do it,” Catra says. “Just don’t go anywhere, alright?”

“Right here,” Adora promises. Catra takes another step into the water. 

It’s really not so bad, once she’s used to it.

//

Catra and Adora lie in bed that night, tired out from the long day. Adora’s hair is salty even after the shower she took once they got back to Bright Moon, and she’s still covered in sand; Catra can feel it between the sheets. 

There’s sand and clothes scattered across the floor and a light breeze blowing through the window, and Adora’s already half asleep. Catra smooths her girlfriend’s hair back fondly, not minding the salt. As she looks around the room, she feels something strange rising in her - not quite a sense of missing, not quite a sense of loss. It’s more like she’s waiting for something, and she can’t tell what it is. 

She remembers Perfuma’s words of advice then, almost like she’s hearing them all over again. _Learn something. Keep yourself grounded._

Catra slips out of bed and goes into the hallway, her feet soundless against the cold marble floors. The giant hallways of Bright Moon make her feel like a grain of sand on the beach, but she pushes past the fear and discomfort and just walks. 

She ends up at the kitchen, which is dark and empty at this time at night. She finds the light switch and flicks it on, bathing the room in a dim light, and looks around. 

She really has no idea what she’s doing here, and part of her wants to turn around and go back to bed, but she came here for a reason and she wants to know why. She hops onto the counter, sits with her legs dangling over the edge, closes her eyes to think.

A memory comes to her, a bright spot in a dark time. She’s sitting on the wrong side of a green barrier, listening to Glimmer describe a perfect day, talking about eating cake right off the plate.

And suddenly Catra knows what she wants to do.

She jumps down from the counter and digs through the refrigerator and the pantry, pulling out flour and eggs and sugar and milk and vanilla and a packet of protein powder that she quickly puts back in disgust after reading the label. She’s never baked anything in her life, but she optimistically thinks that it’s never too late to learn. 

There’s a thick book resting on the table by the stove, and Catra flips through it until she finds a page with a picture of cakes. Her gaze lands on one with white frosting, and she smiles to herself. She props the book open and gets to work.

The first egg falls apart in her hands after she cracks it too hard, but Catra doesn’t give in to her urge to rip the carton apart with her claws. She takes a breath, grounds herself like Perfuma said, and reaches for a new egg to try again.

It takes almost an hour, quite a few smashed eggs, and a bag of spilled flour, but Catra manages to make a passable cake batter. She pours it into a pan and shoves it in the oven, then sits down to wait. 

Before long, the kitchen is filled with promising smells. Catra pulls the pan out of the oven with a pair of cherry-patterned oven mitts she found in the napkin drawer, glad that Bow isn’t there to exclaim _oh my god that’s so cute,_ and digs a fork into the cake. By some miracle, it’s actually good. Adora would definitely love it.

Catra’s spent her whole life destroying things, and it feels refreshingly good to be making something for once. 

Catra takes another bite and then another, her resolution to save some for Adora weakening by the moment. When the cake is almost gone, she decides that she’ll just make Adora her own cake next time. 

There’s a crashing noise from the entrance of the kitchen, and Catra turns to see a sleepy-looking Adora walk into the edge of the door. Catra stifles a laugh.

“Hey,” Adora says, her voice heavy with tiredness. “What are you doing?”

“Baking,” Catra says. “A cake.”

Adora frowns. “You were baking? But I didn’t smell burning. I smelled something good.”

“That was the cake, dumbass. It came out really good. Why would you assume that I can’t bake?”

“Uh, because you burned boiling water trying to cook when we were on the ship?”

“That was one time,” Catra protests. “Seriously, the cake is great.”

Adora looks sadly at the empty cake pan. “You didn’t save any for me?” she asks, pouting a little bit. Catra can’t help laughing. 

“I’ll make you one tomorrow,” she promises. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

They start back towards their room, Catra leaving behind the mess in the kitchen without a shred of guilt. She’s sure that the Bright Moon guards won’t mind cleaning it up; it’s not like they have anything better to do with their time. As Adora falls back into bed, she pokes at Catra’s face. 

“You have some cake right here,” she says sleepily, kissing Catra’s cheek. “Oh, hey. That does taste good.”

“Get some sleep, dumbass,” Catra says affectionately, curling into Adora’s side. “Goodnight.”

Adora falls asleep right away, and Catra’s not far behind her. As she starts to fade into unconsciousness, her last thought is that the cake really had been good. Maybe she could do something with that.

//

Adora drags her back to the kitchens the next morning, determined to make up for missing out on the cake last night. Catra yawns and watches as Adora digs around until she finds an apron, slinging it over her shoulders. 

“Tell me you’re not actually going to wear that,” Catra says.

“Of course I am!” Adora’s grey eyes are bright with excitement. “Don’t you want one too?”

“No.”

Adora throws an apron at her. “Come on, Catra. It’s even got cats on it. Perfect for you.”

Catra looks at the piece of cloth and realizes that yes, there are tiny cats embroidered on it. She sighs at the hopeful look on Adora’s face, and pulls the stupid apron on. 

“Happy now?”

“Very happy,” Adora says. “You’re so - ” 

“Don’t say cute.”

“Okay,” Adora says. “But you already know that I’m thinking it.” She gives Catra a smile, then opens the pantry. “What are we making? Another cake?”

“Sure,” Catra says. “But don’t expect too much. Last night might have just been a lucky mistake.”

They find a recipe for some kind of chocolate cake and start putting the ingredients together, spilling flour and knocking elbows as they try to stir the bowl at the same time. Catra’s face gets covered in cake batter and Adora burns herself on the oven because she’s too impatient to use a protective mitt, but finally they get the cake into the oven and flop down at the counter to wait. 

“That wasn’t so hard,” Adora says brightly, brushing flour off her shoulder. “The oven kind of sucks, though.” She frowns at the burn on her hand.

“You’re supposed to be careful,” Catra says, keeping her voice carefully controlled. She’d felt a flash of raw panic when Adora had first burned her hand, a familiar twinge of fear when she heard Adora’s yelp of pain, but she keeps it hidden because she knows Adora would worry if she knew. “That’s what the mitts are for.”

“Well, whatever,” Adora huffs. “Oven mitts are dumb anyways.” Catra sees right through Adora’s facade, knows that her burn is hurting more than she’ll let on, so she crosses the kitchen to the sink and dips a dishcloth in cold water before pressing it gently against Adora’s hand. 

Adora’s expression relaxes a little. “That’s better. Thanks.” 

Catra pushes her head against Adora’s shoulder. “Next time, use the oven mitts.”

“Fine,” Adora sighs, running her uninjured hand through Catra’s hair. “If you insist.”

“I do.” 

The oven timer beeps and Catra gets up to check on the cake. Adora gets halfway out of her chair before Catra shoots her a look, telling her in no uncertain terms to stay where she is. She’s already burned herself once, and Catra has no intention of letting it happen again. 

The cake is a perfect chocolate brown, and the entire kitchen smells like that hot cocoa drink Glimmer showed them once. Catra allows herself a small smile - apparently her baking success wasn’t a one time thing.

“So should we frost it, or - ” she begins, but Adora isn’t listening. She’s already pulled out a fork and stabbed it into the cake, shoving a giant piece into her mouth. 

“Mmf - ow - hot,” she mumbles. “It’s really good.”

Catra scoops out a piece for herself and finds that Adora’s right. It’s even better than last night’s. Still, she can’t resist teasing Adora a little bit.

“It might have been better with icing,” she says, throwing a crumb at Adora’s face.

Adora shrugs apologetically. “I mean, we could still frost it.”

Catra looks at the cake, which is now a crumbling mess with a giant hole in the middle thanks to Adora’s inability to cut anything neatly without using She-Ra’s sword. “Maybe next time. I think this one’s too far gone.”

“This was kind of good,” Adora says thoughtfully. “The cake, I mean, but also just us baking together. I think we’re a good team.”

There’s a thought drifting around Catra’s mind, an idea slowly starting to take shape, but she can’t quite reach it yet. 

“Yeah,” Catra agrees. “We’re pretty good.”

Adora presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth, wiping away a stray drop of cake batter. “So we can do this again?”

“Whenever you want,” Catra says with a smile. Adora wraps an arm around her, and the hug is even warmer than the kitchen’s ovens. 

There’s a pink glow next to them and Glimmer pops into existence. Catra jumps into Adora’s lap, more startled than she wants to admit. A second later, Bow bursts into the kitchen. He’s breathing heavily, and it’s obvious that he sprinted here. 

“Something smells good,” Glimmer says. “We decided to check it out.”

“You couldn’t have brought me along this time?” Bow gasps. 

“We were having a race, Bow.”

“It’s not a race when one of us can teleport!”

Glimmer waves a hand. “Whatever. Did you guys make something?”

“We made a cake,” Catra mutters, sliding off of Adora’s lap, “and we were peacefully eating it until you guys barged in.” 

Glimmer smiles at her, the kind of playful grin that Catra’s only recently started to get used to from her. The kind of smile that Catra never thought she’d get from Glimmer, or anyone else in Bright Moon, for that matter.

(The kind of smile that says she’s forgiven. The kind of smile that says they’re friends.)

“Well, now you don’t have to eat it alone,” Glimmer says. “We’ll help out. It would be terrible for you two to have to eat an entire cake alone. _Right_ , Bow?”

“Wha - oh, right,” Bow says. “No, we’re just doing our Best Friend Squad duty. Pass me a fork!”

“It’s so nice to have such supportive friends,” Catra says, her voice dripping in sarcasm but her heart acknowledging the truth behind her words. It really is nice to have friends, especially people who by all rights should still hate her. It makes her feel like maybe she really has changed, like maybe she’s really worthy of love after all.

Even after a year, it’s still hard to believe sometimes. 

She gives Bow a fork and then leans back against Adora, watching as Bow gives Glimmer the first bite. The shorter girl chews slowly, and then her eyes widen. “Hey, this is actually edible. Like, it’s really good.”

“No need to sound so surprised,” Adora says loftily. “We are, after all, extremely experienced chefs.”

“Oh yeah? Who did all the cooking on the spaceship?”

“That’s different,” Adora claims. “Cooking in space is not the same.”

Bow is digging his fork into the cake now, but he pauses and stares at Catra. “Wait, Catra, are you wearing an apron with little cats on it? Oh my god, that’s so, so - ” 

“ _Don’t_ say cute,” Catra growls, ripping off the apron and tossing it at him. Bow just laughs. 

Adora rubs her head gently, right at the base of her ears, and Catra relaxes into her girlfriend. A simple touch from Adora has always been the easiest way to calm her down. It was true in the Horde, and it’s true now. 

“Hey, Catra,” Adora murmurs, her voice soft and affectionate, and Catra lets out the purr that’s rumbling around in her chest. 

“Yeah?”

“You should put the apron back on. It was really cute.”

//

They keep baking. 

Adora pushes to make fancier things every day, throwing herself into every project the way she’s always done with challenges. Catra goes along with it because she’s having just as much fun. Bow and Glimmer don’t try to help, after an incident with a collapsed chocolate soufflé almost got Bow brained with Adora’s rolling pin, but they’re always ready to try the baked good of the day.

It gets to be a routine between them, a repeating pattern of putting on aprons and finding ingredients and putting together the batter or dough before sliding everything into the oven. It’s comforting to have consistency, and Catra can tell that Adora likes it too. They’re both accustomed to having routines, thanks to their upbringing as soldiers, so it’s nice to get back to that.

Except, as Adora points out one day, baking is much more fun than being in the evil army trying to take over the planet. Catra has to agree. 

“This is just so good,” Bow says dreamily, shoveling strawberry cheesecake into his mouth later that afternoon. “I think this cheesecake is my soulmate.”

Catra smirks. “I think Sparkles would have some issues with that.”

Glimmer swats her on the arm with a wooden spoon. “Do you ever shut up?”

“Adora knows how to shut me up,” Catra says, raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend. Adora goes red, and Glimmer throws her hands over her ears. 

“I don’t need to be hearing this,” she declares. “Save it for the bedroom.”

Catra laughs loudly, and Adora just looks embarrassed. Bow, oblivious to the entire conversation, slices himself another piece of cake. 

“Really, though,” Glimmer says. “All this stuff you’ve been making is so good. You could probably sell it.”

Adora brushes off the compliment with her usual modesty, but Catra tips her head to one side as Glimmer’s words sink in. 

_You could probably sell it._

Catra feels an idea forming, the same one that she’d felt earlier. It’s still coming together, but it’s definitely there. 

//

Catra has a nightmare.

She knows it has to be a nightmare, knows that there’s no way she can possibly be back in this place, but her brain can’t seem to accept that. She’s back on Prime’s ship, white metal and green-eyed clones all around her, feeling colder than she ever has in her life.

“Do not delude yourself, little sister,” Prime says, his voice full of malice. “Adora will not come back for you. Adora does not care about you. You are nothing to her, less than meaningless.” 

“No,” Catra manages to say. “No, you’re lying. This is just a dream. I’m not really here. You’re gone.”

Prime laughs, the sound horrible and echoing. “If I were not real, could I do this?” He reaches towards her, and there’s a stabbing, searing pain at the back of her neck. Catra chokes and sobs, rolls backwards across the freezing floor, cries out for help that doesn’t come. The clones are closing in on her now, chanting, and Catra kicks out at them, and -

“Catra. Catra!” 

Catra snaps awake, realizing where she is. She’s in bed, drenched in sweat, the sheets tangled around her. Adora is propped up on one elbow, watching her with a look of worry. Melog is bristling at the foot of the bed, their mane red and spiky, clearly as worried as Adora is.

“Are you okay?” Adora says. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Catra says unconvincingly. Her throat is dry and she wants a drink, but there’s no way she’s going out into the cold, enormous corridors of the castle to get herself a glass. She settles for rolling out of bed and stumbling over to the waterfall. 

Adora sits up, ready to come to her aid in a heartbeat. “Catra?”

“It’s fine,” Catra says. “Just need a drink.” She bends over to gulp a mouthful of cold water from the side of the waterfall, feeling the weight of Adora’s concerned gaze resting on her back. She feels irritable all of a sudden, irritable and anxious, prickles of discomfort digging into her. She suddenly hates the waterfall, hates the largeness of the room, hates the way the shadows fall long across the floor because of the tall windows.

“Hey,” Adora says, stretching out her arms. “Come back here, okay?”

Catra gets back in bed, curls up to Adora ,and lets herself relax into the familiar comfort of her warmth, but it’s not enough. She lies on her back and stares up at the ceiling, hating how far away it is.

“Nightmare?” Adora asks, smoothing her hair back. “You’re gonna be okay. I’ve got you.”

Catra nods, feeling ashamed. “I thought I was done with those,” she mutters. “It’s been a while since the last one, I thought - ” 

“It’s okay,” Adora says softly. “Healing is a process. We both know that now.”

Catra wants to settle into her words, wants to allow herself to be comforted, but she feels strangely out of place. Adora feels like home but their room doesn’t, and Catra doesn’t know what’s wrong. 

Catra blinks, one hand reaching up towards the ceiling. “Do you ever feel like Bright Moon just, I don’t know - has too much space?” 

Adora tips her head to one side, confused. “Kind of? Why?”

“I just - ” 

There’s some kind of desire pushing its way through Catra’s chest, but she still doesn’t have a name for it yet. Instead, she just shakes her head and nestles herself against Adora’s side, allows herself to stay grounded in her girlfriend’s warm embrace. 

Adora is the only place Catra’s ever called home, and that’s always been enough for her, so she lets herself be satisfied for now. 

//

As it happens, Bow’s dads actually do need help re-cataloguing the library, and Catra somehow ends up helping.

Adora is outside of Bright Moon for the day, helping Glimmer and Micah negotiate a debate between two nearby towns about the division of an apple orchard that’s located on the border between them. Fruit trees are high on the list of things that Catra couldn’t care less about, so she’d sent Adora off with a kiss and a warning that _you_ _better not do anything stupid if I’m not there to help you, dumbass._ Adora had given her a reassuring smile and promised to be careful, and then she and Glimmer disappeared in a shower of pink sparkles. 

So then it had just been Catra and Bow at the castle - Catra, Bow, and the dozens of guards constantly roaming the halls - and when Bow had brought up the idea of visiting the library, Catra couldn’t say no to his hopeful face.

That’s how she finds herself sitting next to Bow in the library owned by his dads, sorting through a stack of dusty books and trying not to sneeze. 

“We should have done this years ago!” Lance declares, throwing a stack of papers in the air. George gathers them up again, giving his husband a look of affectionate exasperation similar to the one that Catra often gives Adora.

Bow leans over to her. “Sorry about this,” he says. “This probably isn’t the way you wanted to spend your day.”

“No, it’s okay,” Catra assures him. “For a pair of nerds, your dads are pretty awesome. And this library is cool, too.”

Bow smiles, clearly pleased at Catra’s compliment, and Catra does too.

Because yeah, it’s a library, but it’s a beautiful place. It’s well lit and spacious and _warm_ somehow, filled with bookshelves and windows and comfortable armchairs, the kind of place where Catra would love to curl up and nap. She looks around at the walls, brightly painted and covered in maps and paintings, and mentally takes note of how everything is decorated - what for, she’s not sure, but she likes what she sees.

Lance makes tea, and George serves it to them in tiny white cups painted with flowers. Catra takes a sip, surprised by how good it is. 

“It’s going to be our twentieth year in the library this summer,” Lance says proudly, pouring himself a cup of tea. “Twenty years of recording history!” 

“That’s amazing,” Catra says, not even meaning it sarcastically. She thinks it’s kind of wonderful that Bow’s dads are so clearly happy together, like they’re meant to be. 

She wonders if she and Adora will be like that someday. She thinks that maybe they already are.

Catra gets up from the sofa and makes her way over to the railing by the stairs, looking down at the first floor. Even though they’ve only been here for a short time, she thinks the library feels more like home to her than Bright Moon does.

“Hey,” George says, joining her. “So what do you think? Not too shabby, right?”

“You’ve got a pretty nice place here,” Catra says. 

George smiles with one corner of his mouth, clearly more pleased with the compliment than he’s letting on. Catra wonders what it would be like to live somewhere she could be proud of.

She wants to find out what it’s like.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” 

Lance’s eyes twinkle at her. “Of course.”

“How did you and Lance get here? I mean, how did you manage to make all this?” Catra waves an arm around, indicating the bookshelves surrounding them, the bright walls, the building itself. 

“Well,” George says, leaning against the railing. “I don’t remember the process, exactly, because it was so long ago. But I do remember the idea behind it all. We just took something we loved, and together we built a home around it.”

His words resonate with Catra, and it feels like the final piece of the puzzle she’s been stuck on has clicked into place. 

She wants to build a home, and she wants to build it with Adora. 

//

“Hey,” Adora says later that night.They’re back at Bright Moon, sprawled out on their bed, and Adora smells like apples. In the corner, there’s a basket of fruit that she brought back from the orchard; Melog is sniffing around it curiously. “How was the library?”

“Really nice, actually,” Catra says. “Bow’s dads are great. I see where he gets his overly extreme niceness from.”

Adora laughs. “Yeah, they’re amazing. They make really good tea, too.”

“I know, they gave me some.”

“And you didn’t bring me any?”

Catra snorts softly, poking Adora in the side. “You brought back half the orchard. You’ll be okay without a cup of tea.”

Adora sighs exaggeratedly, flopping back onto the bed. Catra feels her heart speed up, her veins start to buzz with anxiety, but she pushes through it and just lets the words fall out. 

“So, um, the library kind of got me thinking,” she says quickly, worried that if she doesn’t say it all now, she’ll lose her nerve. “Bow’s dads, they really made that place for themselves, you know? George told me that they took something they loved and built a home around it, and I just kind of really like that idea.”

Adora sits up now, looking at Catra encouragingly. Catra bites her lip nervously and keeps going. 

“I want that, Adora. I want to build a place that we can call home, somewhere that’s really ours. And I want to do it with you.” Catra ducks her head, looking away from her girlfriend now because she’s stupidly, irrationally scared to see Adora’s reaction. 

Adora slips a hand into hers, lacing their fingers together, the touch familiar and comforting and safe. Catra looks back at her to see that she’s smiling, grey eyes bright with happiness. 

“I want that, too,” Adora says, and Catra feels herself collapse a little bit, can feel the weight of worry sliding right off her shoulders like a wave breaking into the shallows. 

Adora seems to understand, because she wraps her arms around Catra without saying another word. Catra buries her face in Adora’s hair, taking in the sweet smell of apples, and breathes. Her fingers dig into Adora’s back like they have so many times before, this time gently, this time in love instead of anger. 

“So,” Adora says after a moment. “Did you have any ideas for this home?”

Catra’s mouth twitches into an amused grin. “You just want to start planning, don’t you.”

“Maybe,” Adora mumbles. “Well?”  
Catra rests her head on Adora’s shoulder, turning her head so that she can look up at her girlfriend. “How do you feel about starting a bakery?”

//

There’s a place for sale in the town of Bright Moon, a rambling two-story house with lots of windows and a large kitchen and a comfortable bedroom. There’s a balcony on the second floor, and a winding spiral staircase leading to a deck up on the roof. 

Catra is sold from the moment they walk in the door. 

“Not bad, not bad,” Glimmer muses, walking over to examine the stove. She hadn’t taken it well at first when Adora mentioned leaving the castle, but she came around when Bow pointed out that they’d probably get free food from the bakery, with what he called a “Best Friend Squad discount.” 

Adora opens the door of the oven, sticking her head all the way inside, then runs over to the sofa in the living room and jumps on top of it. “Hey, this is really comfortable,” she calls over to them. 

Catra looks around the room, noticing the light pouring in through the windows above the sink, the polished wood floors, the pale yellow walls. It’s a million light years of difference away from the cold metal rooms of the Fright Zone and the overly large corridors of Bright Moon. 

It feels like a new beginning. 

Adora bounds over to her, a wide smile on her face. “This is it, right?”

“Yeah,” Catra confirms. “This is it.”

Twenty minutes later, they’re headed back to Bright Moon with papers of ownership and the key to their new home. 

//

It takes time to move in, and more time to change things around the way they want. Adora talks Glimmer into teleporting all their stuff over, but there’s no way to speed up the installation of the new oven or the construction of the new furniture.

After Adora almost drops the oven on her own feet and Catra mildly electrocutes herself trying to figure out the wires, they decide to call in some extra help. 

Entrapta shows up the next day, carrying a box of tools and the digital recorder that’s never far from her side. She gets to work immediately, wiring the oven up with frightening speed. Adora and Catra just watch, impressed and a little worried that everything might explode. With Entrapta’s tech, it’s not an unfounded worry. 

“Experiment #9319,” Entrapta says excitedly into her recorder. “Installing an oven for Catra and Adora. There seems to be a discrepancy in the technological compatibility of the oven and the house’s wiring system, but I think if I just - ” 

There’s a loud bang and a cloud of sparks, and Catra’s ears flatten. Adora gives her head a calming rub. 

“Ha!” Entrapta exclaims. “Success.” She gets to her feet, gathering up her tools. 

“Already?” Adora says. “Whoa, that was quick. Thanks, Entrapta.”

Catra casts a dubious look at the oven. It seems normal enough, but she’s had bad experiences with Entrapta’s tech before, even if some of it was her own fault. “You’re sure it’s not gonna like, explode or set us on fire, right?”

“There’s only a 5.5% chance that the wiring will catch fire, and a 1.9% chance that the oven will explode, so calculating those two percentages would give us...hm.” Entrapta starts scribbling on a piece of paper, and Catra rolls her eyes. 

“Forget it. Just - thanks for helping.”

“You’re welcome!” Entrapta says enthusiastically. “I’m very excited to see how your bakery does. The interactions with customers...the margins of profit...it’ll be like a social experiment and a mathematical problem all in one! Just think of all that data waiting to be collected...” She trails off, starry-eyed over the thought of data, while Catra and Adora exchange amused looks.

Adora laughs. “Yeah, and we’ll be sure to bake some tiny cupcakes for you.”

Entrapta’s eyes light up. “Really? That’s wonderful! Well, I’ll see you guys later. Wrong Hordak is going to cook dinner for us, and I can’t be late!” 

Catra frowns as Entrapta disappears out the door. “It’s been a year and I’m still not used to them being...whatever they are. It’s so fucking weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Adora agrees. “Still, if they’re happy, that’s really all that matters, right?” 

Catra nudges her in the side.“You’re such a sappy loser.”

“I’m _your_ sappy loser,” Adora grins. “Should we put the rest of the furniture together?” She digs through their toolbox, coming up with a hammer. 

“Pfft,” Catra snorts. “We can do that tomorrow. Let’s eat first.”

Adora puts down the hammer without a trace of an argument, without any of her usual stubborn determination to get things done even when she doesn’t want to do them, and Catra smiles to herself. 

They order dumplings from the shop down the road and eat dinner sitting on the kitchen floor. Catra leaves the upstairs windows open, and they go to sleep on a mattress that’s not yet placed on a bed frame. It feels new in the best kind of way, and when Catra falls asleep with the familiar warmth of Adora’s arm around her waist, it feels like coming home.

It’s a new beginning.

//

Two months go by before their bakery really opens, two months of settling in and baking for more practice and setting up the downstairs with a proper sales counter. Two months of learning how to truly live together. 

Two months of being home. 

Catra decorates their bedroom, putting up all the maps and drawings from their room in Bright Moon and adding other things as the days go by; pages from cookbooks, notes that she and Adora leave for each other, her own rough attempts at sketches. Adora opens the windows to let the late spring breeze in, and they sleep under a giant pile of blankets every night while Melog curls up next to the oven downstairs. They lie on the roof as night falls, staring up at the stars and pointing out constellations. They put together all the furniture and fill the pantry with pastry ingredients and make sure that the fridge is always stocked with dumplings and cream and berries. 

Catra loves it. 

This is the kind of life that she never allowed herself to want, the future that she only ever dreamt of in the hazy space between sleep and waking, and now it’s her reality. 

Catra thinks of all the times Shadow Weaver told her that she was nothing, that she had no future, that she’d never amount to anything. She looks around at everything she has now and feels a quiet, burning pleasure in knowing just how wrong her old mentor was. 

//

It’s opening day, and Adora is anxious about it. 

“Relax,” Catra laughs, straightening her girlfriend’s apron. “We’ve been through much worse than this.” 

Adora pulls at a loose strand of her hair, her expression worried. “I know, but it’s just - ” 

“Just what?”

“I’m nervous,” Adora says, fiddling with her apron strings now. “This wouldn’t be so bad if I could transform.” 

Catra rolls her eyes. “Adora, you can’t sell baked goods as She-Ra.” 

“Why not?” Adora argues weakly. “I’m sure it would be great for business. People love She-Ra.” 

“She-Ra is good for like, saving people and lifting giant weights. No one wants to buy cinnamon rolls from an eight foot tall glowing warrior lady.” Catra gives Adora’s arm a playful push. “Plus, the people may love She-Ra, but I love _Adora_.” 

Adora smiles. “Alright. Alright, I’m fine.” 

“Good,” Catra says. “Because we’re all ready. Just look at how nice everything looks.” 

The downstairs is perfectly converted into a bakery now, and Catra sweeps an arm around at it all to illustrate her point. Adora follows her movement and Catra knows that she’s taking everything in; the polished goldenwood counter, the racks of perfectly baked bread loaves, the glass cases of flaky pastries and breakfast buns. Adora’s expression softens a little, and Catra can tell that she’s relieved to see everything so perfectly aligned with the meticulous plans she drew up over the past two months - plans that Catra hadn’t always agreed with.

(“You don’t need to make a miniature scale model of the sales counter layout, Adora. Just help me put together this shelf.” 

“But how will we know where to place everything if I don’t use the model for reference?” 

“Uh, I don’t know...by using our eyes?”) 

“It does look amazing,” Adora says, smiling now. Catra smiles too; she can’t quite believe that they’ve built all of this together. It feels like some kind of wonderful dream. But she’s not dreaming, and this is her life now, so she gives Adora a quick kiss before flipping the sign on the door so that the side reading “Open” is on display to the public.

“I’m already stressed,” Adora mumbles, leaning against the counter and tapping her fingers against one of the display cases like it’s a drum. Catra stands behind her and wraps her arms around her girlfriend, knowing that hugs from behind are one of her favorite ways to calm down.

Adora’s breathing slows from borderline hyperventilation to a normal speed. Catra rests her head on Adora’s shoulder, feeling Adora tracing a pattern on her arm as she does so. 

“Better now?” Catra asks.

Adora takes a deep breath. “Better.”

The bell above the door lets out a jingle, and Adora tenses as a cheerful looking brunette woman walks in. Adora’s arm is already halfway in the air, ready to summon She-Ra, when Catra pushes it down again. 

“Behave,” she mutters, pressing a kiss to the spot behind Adora’s ear before stepping over to the register.

“Hi, there,” the woman says, giving them a friendly smile. “Can I get two baguettes and a slice of red velvet cake?”

“Sure,” Catra says, opening a drawer and pulling out the cake knife. “Adora, the baguettes?”

“Right!” Adora says, reaching for the bread rack. She accidentally pulls down five loaves, juggles them furiously to keep them from falling, and somehow manages to put three of them back without dropping any of them. Catra watches in amusement as Adora shoves the baguettes into paper bags and puts them on the counter, almost breaking one of them in the process.

“Uh, here. Here you are, ma’am,” Adora says nervously. “Enjoy the bread. Have a good day, I mean a great day, I mean, have a good one. I hope your day is good.”

The woman looks a little puzzled, but just nods and hands over some money as Catra slides the boxed cake over to her. “Thanks.”

“Have a nice day,” Catra calls after her, waving as she leaves. Then Catra turns to Adora, letting out the laugh that she’d been holding back from the second Adora reached for the bread.

“Ugh! I don’t know what happened,” Adora groans. It was like one moment I was fine, and suddenly I was just a mess.”

“Well, what else is new?” Catra cracks. “Seriously, Adora, all you had to do was say ‘have a nice day.’”

Adora turns a little red. “How are you so good at this customer thing? You hate everyone!”

Catra scoffs. “It’s easy. You fake sincerity for a couple minutes, and then it’s over.” She laughs a little at the look on Adora’s face.

“What? Quit laughing.” Adora turns even more red.

“Nothing,” Catra grins. “I just think it’s funny that you’ve fought an evil army from another dimension and saved the universe, but you’re scared to serve customers.” 

“Stop,” Adora whines, covering her face. “This is humiliating.” 

Catra leans over to kiss her on the cheek. “I think it’s cute.”

“Right,” Adora mutters.

“And,” Catra says, pushing Adora back against the counter and leaning into her now, letting her voice drop an octave, “it’s nice to know that there’s some things even _you’re_ not invulnerable to.”

Adora shivers, her breathing starting to get shallow, and Catra smirks. She pushes forward, kisses the edge of Adora’s jaw before stepping away from her. 

Adora frowns at Catra now, her expression annoyed but unmistakably needy. “Why’d you - ” 

“More customers,” Catra says, nodding towards the door, which is just starting to open. A small group of people walk in, chatting loudly, and Catra gives Adora a little push. “You take these ones.”

Adora laces her fingers through Catra’s for a moment, squeezing lightly. “You’ll be here if I need you?”

“Always.”

Adora steps up to the counter to greet the customers. Catra watches her girlfriend affectionately, and wonders how she ever got so lucky.

//

They adjust to life at the bakery. Catra helps Adora figure out how to help customers without having fits of anxious clumsiness, and Adora holds Catra back from beating up some of the ruder clients. Sometimes they stay up late at night, baking for the next day, and fall asleep with flour in their hair. 

Sometimes they don’t open the bakery at all, giving themselves days off whenever they feel like it. Other days they open in the morning and leave to spend the day however they want, letting customers pay for things on an honor system. With Melog around to keep a watchful eye on customers, there are never issues with stealing. 

The people of Bright Moon don’t seem to mind that there’s no set hours; when the bakery is open, the lines trail around the corner. The irregular schedule seems to suit them, and it suits Catra and Adora as well.

On the days when they aren’t actively selling bread and pastries, Catra and Adora spend their time much the same way they did when they were in the castle. They laze around, picnic in Bright Moon’s meadows, visit Bow and Glimmer. Some days they do nothing more than lie on their roof and take in the sun while they watch the clouds drift by. 

Perfuma and Scorpia stop by the bakery a couple weeks after it opens. After grabbing Catra in her usual bone-crushing hug, Scorpia buys ten loaves of bread. 

“This place is great, wildcat,” she says, already halfway through one of the baguettes. “You’re happy here, aren’t you?” 

Catra looks around her, noticing Adora and Perfuma sitting together at the table next to the door. Adora laughs at something Perfuma says, her hair shining golden in the sunlight pouring through the windows.

“You know what, Scorpia,” Catra says. “I really am.”

Scorpia gives her another hug, more gently than usual. Catra only feels one rib cracking this time. 

“You always deserved this kind of happiness,” Scorpia says softly. “I’m glad you finally have it.”

Three years or one year or probably even six months ago, Catra would have denied deserving anything like this. But times have changed, and Catra just smiles at her friend before turning back to look over at Adora, still illuminated by the bright sunlight, always her golden girl.

“Yeah,” Catra says, letting a slow smile spread across her face. “I am too.”

//

Catra decides to leave the bakery closed on the first day of summer, and she takes Adora to Plumeria for the annual Plumerian flower festival. She’s not one to care much about plants, but she can tell that Adora wants to go, so they pack a lunch and head off.

Once they arrive, Catra starts to rethink her opinion on plants. The sunny meadow where the festival is held is a riot of color, and the air is filled with a sweet smell from the plants growing in every direction. It’s kind of wonderful.

A few Plumerians come by to place elaborate flower crowns on their heads, and Catra doesn’t even protest. 

“You’re here!” Perfuma exclaims, sweeping over to them. She’s carrying a basket filled with pink blossoms that smell like cherries, and Catra gives the flowers an appreciative sniff.

Adora’s eyes are wide. “Are those edible? They smell amazing.” 

Before Perfuma can answer, Adora grabs a handful of the cherry blossoms and shoves them in her mouth, chewing enthusiastically. She pauses for a moment, then spits them out again, brushing at her tongue furiously.

Perfuma laughs. “You’re not supposed to eat them until they turn into fruit.”

“Now you tell me,” Adora groans. “Oh, that was disgusting.”

Catra loops her tail around Adora’s wrist, pulling her towards a stand with small cakes shaped like flowers. Adora picks up five or six of them, shoving them into her mouth all at once. 

“Sorry about this,” Catra says, as the owner of the stall stares at her in disbelief. “We usually don’t let her out of the house, so she’s got some problems with manners.”

Adora frowns at her as they walk away. “Rude.”

Catra laughs and wipes a smear of pink frosting away from the corner of Adora’s mouth. “How were the cakes? Not as good as ours, right?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” Adora says, mock thoughtfully. “Maybe you’ll have to try a taste for yourself.” She leans in and kisses Catra, and the sweet taste of cherry icing, as well as the unmistakable taste of _Adora_ , fills Catra’s mouth.

Catra pulls her in and kisses her harder, not caring that they’re surrounded by people. She swipes her tongue over Adora’s bottom lip and then bites down softly, hearing Adora gasp softly in response.

“Nah,” Catra says casually, pulling back. “Definitely not as good as ours.”

Adora lets out a frustrated huff. “You’re such a tease.”

“Only for you,” Catra says with a smirk. “Come on, let’s go see the rest of the plants.”

//

“You’re starting a garden?” Catra asks later that afternoon. They’re back at home and she’s lying on the roof of the bakery, sprawled out in the late-day sunlight watching as Adora struggles with a trowel and a long wooden box filled with dirt. “I knew the flower festival was a mistake.” 

Adora playfully flings a shovelful of dirt at her. “Perfuma said you’d really like these.” 

Catra eyes the tiny pots next to Adora, each filled with a small plant. “These what? All I’m seeing is a bunch of salad greens.”

“This isn’t lettuce,” Adora says. “I don’t think, anyway.”

Catra watches as Adora makes a row of holes in the dirt, transplanting each sprout carefully and patting the earth down around it. Adora’s arms are strong, the muscles tightening as she digs the shovel in. There’s a drop of sweat running down her face and another at her collarbone, disappearing into the neck of her shirt. Catra decides that maybe gardening isn’t such a waste of time after all.

“So you don’t know what kind of plants these are?” she asks, sliding across the roof until she’s almost in Adora’s lap. She just barely manages to stop herself from licking at Adora’s jawline. It would be satisfying, but she’d never get over the embarrassment. 

Adora shakes her head. “Perfuma didn’t tell me, but I’m assuming it’s some kind of flower.”

Catra leans down and sniffs the plants, not expecting much. Her eyebrows shoot upwards as she smells an intoxicating scent that reminds her of mint and lavender and something else that’s irresistible. 

“Whoa, that’s good,” she says, burying her nose deeper among the leaves. “Hmm, yeah. I like these.” 

Adora sniffs at the leaves. “I don’t really smell anything. It’s a little minty, I guess.”

“That’s it?” Catra asks. “To me it’s like...hmm...sunshine...and maybe rainbows.” She takes another sniff, feeling a strange but pleasant sensation rushing through her. It’s warm and loose, and she feels a little like she’s floating away.

Adora gives her a concerned look. “Catra, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Catra grins, flopping onto her back now and resting her head in Adora’s lap. “Do you see that cloud? Doesn’t it look like a duck?” She points towards the cloud in question, marveling at how her arm seems like it’s not connected to her body. “Adora, do you ever feel like you’re a cloud? Maybe I’m actually made out of clouds. Maybe you’re made out of sunlight, and that’s why you’re so pretty.”

“Yeah, there’s definitely something wrong with you,” Adora says. “Are you losing your mind?”

Catra looks up at her, reaching for a strand of golden hair and tangling her fingers in it. “Nothing’s wrong with me. I’m just...letting the sky fall on me. Look, it’s falling towards us right now.” She waves at the sky above them, trying to push it away.

Adora breaks off a leaf from the plants, chewing it experimentally, and then she laughs. 

“What’s so funny?” Catra asks hazily. “Is there a joke? Did I miss something?"

“I think this is catnip,” Adora says, still laughing. “That must be why you like it so much.”

“Hmm,” Catra agrees. “Like it...so much.” 

Adora runs her hand through Catra’s hair. “It’s not hurting you at all, right?”

“No,” Catra confirms. “Not at all.”

“Then I’m gonna keep growing it,” Adora says. “You’re adorable when you’re high.”

“You’re adorable all the time,” Catra says. “It’s even in your name. Like you were just so adorable that they had to name you after it. God, I love you. I love you, I love you.”

“I love you too, weirdo,” Adora says. “You want to stay up here until it wears off?”

Catra nods, curling up against Adora’s legs and letting her eyes slide shut. Adora keeps playing with her hair, and the gentle motion starts to lull Catra into a daze.

“Maybe we could make catnip brownies to sell,” Catra suggests sleepily. “Like those things they had on one of the planets we visited. Edibles? I’m sure our customers would like them.”

Adora laughs again, the sound bright and familiar in Catra’s ears. “Catnip only affects you because you’re part cat. They’d just be normal brownies to anyone else.”

“Oh,” Catra says, disappointed. “Right.”

“You can sleep now,” Adora says. “I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.” She kisses Catra on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.” 

Catra thinks that the sound of that promise is sweeter than any dream she’s ever had.

//

In typical Bright Moon style, Glimmer decides to throw a ball in honor of the bakery opening. She invites Catra and Adora over to help make plans, which Catra is less than thrilled about.

“It’ll be the event of the summer!” Glimmer says excitedly, rolling out a list of guests to invite. She sets up a map with a detailed layout of the ballroom, and pours out a handful of tiny figurines to use as props. Catra picks up the one carved to look like Adora, smiling.

“Look, Adora! Why can’t you be this cute in real life?”

Adora smacks her hand, making her drop the little statue. “Hey!”

Bow raises his hand. “Uh, if we’re planning a party, then why are we in the war planning room?”

“We don’t have a party planning room,” Glimmer reminds him. “The war room _is_ the party planning room now.”

“Only a princess would say something like that,” Catra mutters. “This is the spare room versus jail cell thing all over again.”

Glimmer glares at her. “Focus, people! This needs to be perfect.”

“Perfect is overrated,” Catra says. “Just slap some decorations on the walls and make sure there’s enough snacks, what else do you need?”

Glimmer looks like she’s about to have a coronary. “Catra, that is not a proper way to plan a party! Adora, you agree, don’t you? You’ll help me, right?”

“Of course,” Adora says, and Catra can tell that she’s already slipping into her overworking, overthinking mode, so she gets up from where she’s sitting and jumps into Adora’s lap.

“Hey, Adora,” she says, putting an extra purr into her voice. Adora blinks, looking flustered now. 

Glimmer bangs a fist on the table. “I know what you’re doing, Catra! Stop that!”

Catra ignores her, letting her tail curl up to brush against Adora’s jaw. “The way I see it,” she says to her girlfriend, “we have two choices. We can stay here and help them plan this thing - ” 

“ - which you should do, because there’s no way I can do this all by myself,” Glimmer interrupts. 

“Or,” Catra continues, “we can leave this in Bow’s and Glimmer’s _very capable_ hands and go make out in the castle gardens.”

Adora bites her lip, clearly torn, and then shoots Glimmer an apologetic look. “Sorry, Glimmer.” 

“Not sorry at all, Sparkles,” Catra grins. “See ya later.” She takes Adora’s hand and they walk out the door, leaving Glimmer and Bow at the table with the stack of plans. 

“You’ll be sorry when the decorations collapse and we run out of punch!” Glimmer yells after them. Bow laughs, and Catra looks back just in time to see Glimmer throw the tiny Bow figurine at him.

//

On the night of the ball, Adora refuses to let Catra see what she’s wearing until they’re on the way to the castle. Catra gets ready in the bedroom, pouting a little, while Adora dresses in the bathroom.

“‘It’ll be a surprise’ my ass,” she mutters to herself, straightening the collar of her jacket. 

The bathroom door swings open and Adora steps out. Her hair is down for once, and she’s wearing a white dress with golden starbursts embroidered along the hem. It’s gorgeous in its simplicity, and Catra can’t stop staring. 

She doesn’t think she’ll ever get used to how beautiful Adora is. 

She’s not the only one staring, though. Adora’s wide-eyed, her gaze dragging up and down Catra’s body like she isn’t sure where to look. 

“Holy shit,” Adora finally manages to say. “When did you get this outfit?”

“Oh, this old thing?” Catra replies, casually running a hand over her sleeve. “Just picked it up the other day.”

She’d seen the white and gold suit in the window of a clothes shop on the way home from the grocery store and she’d bought it without a second thought, partly because she knew it would look good on her, but mostly because she knew Adora would love it.

Adora’s still staring, and Catra lets out a little cough. “My eyes are up here.”

“You’re wearing my colors,” Adora says, her voice a little shaky. “I mean, She-Ra’s colors.”

“Guess so,” Catra says. “We’re becoming one of those couples who wear matching clothes, aren’t we? Kinda gross, but hey. We look hot.”

Adora takes two steps to her and kisses her, pushing her back against the wall of their bedroom. Catra lets out a moan, unashamedly grabbing for Adora’s hair and pulling. Adora bites down on Catra’s bottom lip, then kisses her neck, and Catra doesn’t even care that her suit is probably creasing now.

“You’re the hottest person I’ve ever seen,” Adora mumbles against Catra’s neck. “You look so good in the suit, but you’ll look even better out of it.”

“Adora,” Catra says weakly, showing no signs of wanting her to stop. “We’ll be late.”

“Then we’ll be late,” Adora says. “Do you want me to stop?” She pulls back, and Catra yanks her closer again.

“Don’t you dare,” Catra says, the words coming out as more of a whine. Adora smirks and nudges a thigh between Catra’s legs, and Catra stops talking altogether.

They’re late to the ball, but it’s so worth it.

//

The castle is decorated beautifully, all pink and gold streamers and white ribbons. There’s a large banner reading “Congratulations, Catra and Adora” hanging from the ceiling, and one of Frosta’s ice sculptures - shaped like a three-layer cake - is sitting by the punch bowl. There’s a band at one end of the room, playing a lively song, and a few people are already on the dance floor. The rest are gathered in groups along the edge of the room, chatting away happily. 

Catra smiles up at the sign, pleased. “Hey, they put my name first.”

Adora just rolls her eyes and drags her off to the refreshment tables. Glimmer appears at their side as Catra is serving herself a cup of punch. “Guys! You’re here! I almost thought you weren’t coming.”

“Oh, we got a little held up,” Catra says, grinning. “Sorry, Sparkles.” 

“Well, you’re here now!” Bow says, coming up to them and folding Catra and Adora into a warm hug. Catra tries to wriggle her way out, but she secretly enjoys it. 

Frosta runs over, a cup of juice in one hand and a giant icicle in the other. Mermista is a few steps behind her, looking as bored as ever. 

“Hey, Catra! Hey, Adora!” Frosta exclaims. “I missed you guys. Congratulations on opening the bakery.”

Adora bends down to give her a hug. “Thanks, Frosta. It’s good to see you, too.”

“Yeah, good job or whatever,” Mermista says. “The bakery sounds cool, I guess.” She lets Adora hug her for a moment before drifting off towards Scorpia and Perfuma, who are standing near the band.

“And _you_ ,” Frosta says, eyeing Catra fiercely. “Try not to wreck this ball, alright?”

Catra laughs. “You got it, short stack.”

There’s a whine of machinery behind them, and Entrapta rolls in, sitting on top of one of her bots. “This ball is such an interesting social experiment. So much data to be gathered!” Her gaze lands on Catra. “I don't suppose you’d like to be my research assistant again, the way you were at that Princess Prom a couple years ago?”

“Sorry, Entrapta,” Catra says. “I’ve got other things to do.” She drags Adora out onto the dance floor. The band starts a fast song, and Catra spins Adora in a circle and dips her like they’re seventeen again before moving on to the next person. She’s never understood why these dances have to switch between everyone; if it was up to her, she’d dance with no one but Adora all night.

“Hey, Catra,” Spinnerella says when they end up as dance partners, smiling at her. “Congrats on the bakery.” 

“Thanks,” Catra replies, a little shyly. Spinnerella is one of the people she thought would never forgive her after the war, and even after all this time it’s still a little unnerving to know that she doesn’t hate Catra.

Spinnerella turns, and the light catches her necklace. Catra looks at it with interest, remembering when Bow explained to her that Spinnerella wears Netossa’s necklace because they’re married. Catra still doesn’t really get what marriage is, but she thinks she might want to learn more about it someday in the future. 

“Hey, Spinnerella,” Catra says. “Can I ask you something about your necklace sometime?”

Spinnerella smiles at her knowingly. “Of course, Catra. I’ll be here anytime you want to talk.”

Catra looks across the dance floor at Adora, whirling around with Bow, and smiles. “Not today or anything. Just sometime soon.”

The song ends with a flourish and Spinnerella nods to Catra before walking off in Netossa’s direction. Catra stays where she is, thinking about necklaces and bracelets and Glimmer’s earring that Bow wears.

The night goes by in a blur of laughter and music and happiness. Before Catra knows it, her feet are sore from dancing and her ribs hurt from laughing, and it’s almost midnight. Adora leaves to go to the bathroom, and Catra leans against the dessert table, watching Bow and Glimmer jump around on the dance floor with Micah.

As Catra pours herself another cup of punch, the song ends. The band starts playing a slower song, soft and sweet, and couples start pairing up all over the room.

“Hey, there,” Adora says, and Catra turns to see her standing next to the table. “Miss me?”

“Absolutely. All five of those minutes were unbearable without you,” Catra grins. 

Adora smiles at her, and holds out a hand. “May I have this dance?”

They make their way back onto the dance floor, and Adora puts her arms around Catra’s waist, letting Catra place her hands on her shoulders. Catra lets her tail wrap loosely around Adora’s wrist and then leans into her chest, resting her head right under Adora’s chin.

She doesn’t think she’s ever felt closer to Adora than she does right now. There’s all kinds of warm feelings pushing around in her chest, all kinds of things that she wants to say to try and explain how much this means to her. 

“Hey, Adora?”

Adora smiles, and Catra feels it against her forehead. “Yeah?”

“I love you,” Catra says, and that’s all she really has to say.

“I love you too,” Adora says. 

As the song comes to an end, Glimmer and Bow come over to them. “What do you think, guys? We’re going to be partying until the sun comes up.”

“Yeah,” Bow chimes in. “All-nighter!” 

Adora meets Catra’s eyes, and they don’t even need words to communicate what they want.

“Thank you so much for all of this,” Adora says to their friends. “But we’re going home.”

Glimmer nods in understanding. “I get it.”

“I totally get it,” Bow agrees. “But you’re not getting away without another Best Friend Squad hug.” He wraps them all up into a hug, and Catra lets him hold on longer than usual.

And then she and Adora are walking home through the dimly lit streets, just the two of them, the way it’s been since the beginning.

//

The lights are off in the bakery, but there’s a dim glow from the ovens lighting the room. Melog purrs in welcome, lying beside the largest oven, their mane a cool blue. As Catra sits down at the counter, she thinks that she wants all of her nights to be like this; loud and bright and filled with the company of her friends, but ending in the peace and quiet of her own home, with her favorite person in the world. 

She takes off her suit jacket, leaving herself in just a white shirt and pants, and watches as Adora changes from her dress into one of Catra’s shirts and then pushes her hair up into a messy ponytail, the annoying and endearing poof still sticking up.

“Are you tired?” Adora asks.

Catra shakes her head, because she is a little tired but she doesn’t want this night to be over yet. “Are you hungry?”

“I mean, I could eat.”

“You could always eat,” Catra laughs. “Real food or dessert?”

“You even have to ask?”

They make a pan of brownies and sit down next to the oven to wait as it bakes, Melog lying next to them. Adora’s got cocoa powder on her face and her expression is tired but happy, and Catra thinks she looks even more beautiful than she did at the ball.

“That was a pretty good party,” Catra says, leaning back against the counter. “Bright Moon may be a bunch of sparkly do-gooders, but they know how to throw a ball.”

“Tonight was great,” Adora agrees. “It was better than the time we were at Princess Prom, that’s for sure.”

Catra scoffs. “What, you didn’t have fun then? I personally had a great time dancing with you, making you think I was up to something all night, and then leaving you frozen inside a giant ice cave.”

Jokes about the past always seem a little like a loaded weapon, but they’re mostly past all of that now, and Adora just laughs. “Well, it wasn’t the most romantic night of my life.”

“That’s tonight, huh?” Catra asks. 

She’d meant it in a teasing tone, but Adora tips her head to one side and considers it seriously. “Yeah,” she says. “I think it is.”

“I think so too,” Catra says, pushing her head against Adora’s shoulder. “Best night of my life.”

Adora kisses her on the forehead. “Best night so far, anyways.”

The brownies are done, so Adora gets a couple spoons from the drawer by the cash register and the two of them climb up to the roof, leaving Melog to doze in the warmth of the ovens. Adora lies down on her back, and Catra folds up her jacket and slides it under Adora’s head before lying down next to her.

Adora shoves a spoonful of brownie in her mouth and shifts over so they’re pressed together, Catra’s right side to Adora’s left. Catra lets out a purr, and they both turn their gazes upwards towards the night sky.

“It’s still kind of amazing, isn’t it?” Adora says, gesturing with her spoon. “Having stars now.”

Catra nods, staring at the vast expanse of darkness brightened by dots of white light. “It makes us seem so small.”

“Maybe,” Adora muses. “I like it, though.”

“Me too,” Catra admits. “There’s a whole universe of stars out there, but I still know my place in it.”

“Where’s that?” Adora asks, sounding genuinely confused. 

“Wherever you are,” Catra says. “Dumbass.”

Adora smiles, and Catra thinks it’s brighter than any star in the sky.

There’s a flash of light, and a streak of silver dropping across the darkness as a star seems to fall through space. Catra points. “Look, a shooting star.”

“Glimmer told me something about those when I first came to Bright Moon,” Adora says thoughtfully. “She said that if you wished on a shooting star, it would come true.”

“So did you wish for anything?”

“No,” Adora says. “I have everything I want already.” She turns her head towards Catra, giving her the kind of soft smile that only comes out in their most vulnerable moments, the one that belongs to the truest Adora. 

“Loser,” Catra says softly, smiling back at her. She slips her hand into Adora’s and as they lie there together, looking up at the stars, Catra knows this is it.

They’re home.

**Author's Note:**

> if i did write this fic because i want to someday live over a bakery that i own with my girlfriend...no i didn't 
> 
> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/thymewars)


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